Vertical Drama Dramas Review Binge It Free Now

How a Kyiv Studio Gambled on the Vertical Drama

TV was not where Holywater got its start. Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov founded the business in 2020 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and its product lineup to this day reads more like a mobile entertainment laboratory than a streaming platform. Next to My Drama are My Passion for books, My Muse for AI and FreeBits. That spread is telling, since video is one consumer product among several for the company, not its entire identity. The vertical video streaming vertical drama, a format born in China as duanju and framed 9:16 for an upright phone, was the bet it eventually made. The sector’s largest players were supported by Chinese and Singaporean groups, so entering this market was a brave step for a small Ukrainian business.

The My Drama App Goes Live in Spring 2024

During spring 2024, the My Drama app launched, though the exact date depends on which source you believe. Per TechCrunch, the launch came in April, whereas Google Play shows March 13, 2024, and the App Store shows May 9, 2024. Those store dates indicate that Android came first, with the iPhone version following about two months later. The initial slate leaned hard on the genre’s best-loved tropes. The Shy Beauty and the Billionaire Beast and Love Captive to a Mafia Boss were some of the early titles, names that reveal most of what you need to know about the mood. The company was eventually distinguished not by the stories themselves but by the collaborator it would soon be making them with.

The Fox Deal, a $22M Round and a Webby

The month My Drama ceased to be a startup curiosity was October 2025. In a deal that came with a commitment to produce more than 200 vertical titles over two years, Fox Entertainment acquired an equity stake in Holywater. Horizon Capital headed a $22M funding round in Holywater three months later, in January 2026. The platform carries Fox-produced titles such as Billionaire Blackmail, Bound by Obsession and My Heart’s Offside. The company also holds a Webby Award for Best Streaming Service from 2025, a distinction it features on its App Store listing. Together, those milestones give My Drama an edge few rivals can claim: a major American studio acting as both shareholder and producer.

The My Drama Fact Sheet

For anyone who only has a moment, the table below gives the quick version of the story. The ownership, legal, platform and pricing details that count most to a first-time viewer are collected there. As of September 2026, the prices match those listed in the US App Store. They differ by country, platform and promotion, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a firm quote. The app shows 5M+ downloads on Google Play, which is the store the install count refers to. Where you live decides the legal entity you contract with, something that is relevant if you ever need to dispute a charge.

The My Drama Viewing Experience

The entire category is built on this same basic experience, and My Drama follows it. Episodes are vertical and sized for an upright phone; in this genre they usually run a minute or two, and then a cliffhanger nudges you toward the next one. Series often run anywhere from 20 to 100 episodes, so a single story can silently consume an evening in bite-sized pieces. Where this drama app truly sets itself apart is the range of screens it supports. Beyond iPhone, iPad and Android, listings show it for Vision Pro and for Apple TV on tvOS 18 or later. That big-screen option is more unusual than you might think, since ReelShort’s App Store listing, for comparison, shows no Apple TV version at all. A 9:16 frame will never fill a widescreen television, but the option transforms a solo phone habit into something a couple can watch together.

Holywater’s own early productions and the growing Fox slate share the library, which blends the two. The Fox releases stick close to the genre’s well-worn formula, as titles like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by Obsession make plain. Scale is where the honest caveat comes in. The app lists 5M+ installs on Google Play, a small fraction of the 100M+ that ReelShort, DramaBox and ShortMax each list. That gap puts My Drama in 2026 as a well-funded challenger rather than the category leader.

What My Drama Costs in 2026: Plans and Prices

Access is sold three ways, and the key figure is the weekly pass. «My Drama: Full Access» is priced at around $19.99 per week in the US App Store as of September 2026. This puts it in line with the weekly passes from ReelShort, ShortMax, DramaWave and GoodShort, all listed at about the same price in the same store. At roughly $4.99 to $24.99, coin packs open up individual episodes. Thanks to a separate Premium tier listed at around $4.99 to $9.99, lighter viewers have lower-cost entry points than the full pass. The figure on your own device may be different, as prices vary by country, platform and promotion. The weekly subscription renews automatically until you cancel it, like its rivals’ plans. Before committing, run the numbers: four renewals of a $19.99 weekly pass add up to about $80 a month.

Terms to Read Before You Pay

The terms of use for My Drama include fine print worth more attention than most viewers give it. Every coin purchase is final, which means no easy refund if a series lets you down after you unlock it. A balance you ignore for a year can simply vanish, since coins are forfeited after 12 months of inactivity. Anything you buy on the web is labeled non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. For viewers in the EU and UK, there is a 14-day right of withdrawal, which reflects the consumer rules in those markets. Deleting the app does not cancel your subscription, and the terms state so clearly, which is the most important point of all. iPhone owners cancel under Settings, then their name, then Subscriptions, while Android users use the Subscriptions menu in Google Play. Apple or Google, not Holywater, deal with refunds for store purchases.

Knowing exactly who sits on the other side of the contract is useful too. XOLY LIMITED, a Delaware company, handles US users, whereas everyone else contracts with Holy Water Limited in Nicosia, Cyprus. One more warning applies here as much as to any vertical drama app. Sites offering modded APKs, unlimited coins or free coin generators are unofficial and are not a safe way to watch anything. Cancelling the pass, not hunting for a hack, is the proper move when the price seems too high.

Verdict: The Challenger With Hollywood on Its Side

Measured by install counts, My Drama is not the biggest vertical drama app, and it is not even close. What it has instead is an uncommon mix: a Kyiv founding story, a Fox equity partner committed to more than 200 titles, fresh funding from January 2026 and a Webby on the shelf. The practical upside for viewers is Apple TV support, something ReelShort, for one, does not list. The catch is the same one that plagues every rival, namely a weekly pass of about $19.99 that renews quietly in the background. ShortMax, with its 50,000+ dramas, is the more obvious pick if you simply want the largest claimed library. The My Drama app deserves a place on your home screen if you want Fox-produced romance and the option to watch on a television. Whichever you pick, cancel through your store account rather than trusting the delete button, and set a reminder the day you subscribe.